Write or Die: Dean Alfar

"It is one thing to be a lover of reading, like I am, like you are. But if we were all readers, there would be nothing to read if no one were to write." - Dean Alfar

Last Saturday, I was at the Write or Die workshop where Dean Alfar gave a two-hour talk on novel writing. For a good few minutes, I was manning the projector when a client called and I had to immediately depart to take the call. Dean's best friend, Vin, seemed to handle the PowerPoint duties quite well. What can I say, the event was packed and Powerbooks was grabbing chairs and benches everywhere, including their own cafe. Writers at the event include Nikki Alfar, Alex Osias, Kate Aton-Osias, Kenneth Yu, Michael Co (which I recognized from listening to Anansi Girl's podcast ), and the ever-elusive F.H. Batacan. Comic artist Wilson Tortosa was also in the crowd while the event was deftly handled by Read or Die members Giyenah and Innocentlyjaded.

The Event Organizers and Their Sponsors:

• Write or Die
• Read or Die
• Powerbooks
• Wikipilipinas
• UP Institute of Creative Writing
• UP Gawad Centennial Likhaan 2008

Links Mentioned by Dean Alfar:

• NaNoWriMo
• The Lit Critters
• Dean's Blog
• Dean's PowerPoint Presentation

Pinoy NaNoWriMo:
Several Filipino participants from NaNoWriMo also made an appearance during the event (they were occupying the front seats).

• NaNoWriMo thread on the event
• Tinamats has also uploaded her notes on the event (mostly from Dean's PowerPoint presentation).

Photos Courtesy of Kenneth Yu (Philippine Genre Stories)

Dean Alfar

Read or Die Representatives

The Audience (believe it or not, there were more people who showed up later on)

Audio Recording:

Write or Die 1: Dean Alfar (56 MB, 123:46 minutes)

Transcript:

Write or Die: Dean Alfar (work in progress--hopefully I'll be done before the Ad Congress but everything won't be transcribed by tomorrow!)

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #11

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

The entry was actually submitted yesterday. So why this blog entry? Well, who said the process was over?

After printing out the manuscript and lugging it around for half the day, new ideas came flooding into my mind, phrases that would have made the story better. They say hindsight is 20/20 but unlike other crafts, in writing, you can actually go back in time and add in those post-writing ideas. It's what we call editing.

But as far as my official entry to the contest goes, it'll remain what I wrote it yesterday. It'll have to do and stand on its own. But during the time I'm waiting for the results, I can revise the manuscript and make it a better story. If the story wins, well and good. I'm sure the publishers will be open to revision. If it doesn't, well, no one else except the judges and the Fully Booked staff saw the document. If it gets published in the future, it's the final revision that they'll read.

What bothers me though was that I forgot to use something as inane as the spell checker. Watch out for typos!

Time Distortion

Every Wednesday, I post an essay or two that relates to anything from reading/writing to gaming to anime to life in general.

God might have created the world in 7 days (6 if you don't count the Sabbath or the Lord's Day) but the actual craft of creation takes longer. For example, a short story might take me days to write but a reader will finish reading it in the span of a few minutes. A novel might take a year (or a month if you're the NaNoWriMo type) but it's a product that's consumed in the span of a few days at the most. And this isn't something that merely applies to the craft of writing. Working on a movie easily takes up half a year (if not more) and consumers watch it in the span of what, two, three hours? How many hours are spent editing a one-hour podcast? Even game design is affected by this as days and weeks and months of playtesting are put into a product which might only be an hour's worth of casual play. Suffice to say, there is simply a disproportion of time when it comes to manufacturing something and consuming something.

That's not to say creators should give up at the futility of it all. For the most part, life follows that pattern. People work five days a week so that they might enjoy the weekends. Musicians practice and repeat their performance until they get it right for their recording. The cliche for writing is that it's 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Everyone devotes time when it comes to their passions. But time isn't always working against you. There are, I think, two ways in which creators "distort" time.

First is immortality, or rather the next best thing. A piece of work can easily outlive it's creator's lifetime. To this day, we still talk about Citizen Kane, Lord of the Rings, or Gandhi's teachings. People might have spent years producing those works yet it's lasted decades (and perhaps even stretch to centuries). Of course not all work endures. A lot of novels are published every day and not all of them sell profitably or catch the eye of the critical reader. But that's the risk every creator makes and why it's important to give it everything you've got.

The other way to distort time isn't necessarily to make your work enduring but to facilitate its distribution. Arguably a band might be able to perform live to thousands of people. But in terms of circulation, nothing beats musical distribution through CDs, mp3s, records, etc. The same performance might reach the ears of millions and played over and over at their whim--surpassing the human limitations of a five-man act. The same goes with this blog entry. Had I not published it on the Internet, I might show to five people a print-out of what I've written and it takes them 5 minutes each to read its entirety, even if it took me half an hour to write this. But circulating it on the Internet takes me what, 5 minutes, and hopefully more than 5 people read this. It's not about making my work enduring (I doubt if people will be reading this particular blog entry ten years from now) but rather distributing my work so that a lot of people might read it. It might just take them 5 minutes to read this but if 100 people read it, that's already 500 minutes of consumption into something I wrote. Of course like immortality, if I write crap, no one will read my crap in the future. Quality is still important but the bar perhaps isn't as high as making something a classic.

At the end of the day, we're all human and limited by temporal physics. But through the act of creation, we somehow work around that fact.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #10

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

I woke up at 6:15 am, putting the finishing touches to my manuscript. I honestly wish I had more time to polish the document but that's just a fact I'm going to have to live with. I feel that my first few pages are stronger than the ones I end with but we'll see on how the story fares.

Changed the title again and my final word count is nearly 4,000 words. Now it's time to check for the requirements, making sure of those 1" margins and page numbers. There's also the form to fill out, the resume to include, and of course printing out four hard copies.

Good luck to those who are joining!

Save or Die!

Every Wednesday, I post an essay or two that relates to anything from reading/writing to gaming to anime to life in general.

"Fiction should always make sense even if reality doesn't."

In the Dungeons & Dragons RPG, gamers have come up with the term "Save or Die" spells. Basically, it's a spell that can spell instant death for any character unless they roll particularly high on the dice. Now some gamers enjoy this part of the game (but then again, they're probably the demographic that enjoyed going through the Tomb of Horrors). I'm not one of them and I think this boils down to the elements of a story. Now I must clarify: playing tabletop RPGs is not the same as writing fiction. But there is some overlap in the sense that both are trying to tell stories.

In fiction, there should be no coincidences. Every word, every phrase is consciously planted by the author and every detail has to be significant, even if it's just to act as a red herring. It might be surprising to tell gamers that RPG games should have no coincidence (especially since a lot of game systems have a luck factor) but for the most part, I think that's what players are expecting. It's okay for characters to die as long as it was a meaningful death. Save or die spells have that feeling that it was mere coincidence that the character died... or that the players won. That's not to say that doesn't happen in real life. In reality, the most unexpected circumstances might occur for no reason at all. A coconut might fall on a person's head and kill them in an instant (in fact more people die by falling coconuts than by shark attacks). Or people simply get hit by lightning. But pulling off those events in either fiction or tabletop RPGs wreaks of deus ex machina, unless we're working with a genre convention (getting hit by lightning might be perfectly normal for a superhero origin story for example). Imagine encountering the main villain of the story and you've been building up this scene for quite some time. But instead of this epic battle between the heroes and the villain, a stray arrow from the nearby battle kills the villain without any planning or action on the part of the heroes. Suddenly, the plot crumbles. (Having said that, that particular scene would have worked if it was the beginning of your story rather than your climax.) In a game, it didn't make sense for the Game Master nor did it make sense for the players. In fiction, many readers will simply deem it unfair. Why take us for this entire roller coaster ride if it's not going to make sense?

Or put it in another way, what if lethal misfortune happens to our players that's not tied to the plot? A freak traffic accident might end up running down one of the characters. Or there's an explosion in front of one of the players and it's not a conspiracy. I've seen Game Masters use a lot of tables to generate lots of random effects but I don't think Game Masters are using a table of random lethal accidents that do nothing to push the story forward. And it's the same with fiction. You don't build up a character with several loose threads hanging only to abruptly kill them. You tackle their loose threads and then you kill them, not before. But quite frankly real life doesn't work that way. Many people die without relaying to their love ones what they truly fear, or perhaps what they've been working on for the past decade remains unfinished. And there are a lot of meaningless and random deaths in the world but that doesn't mean they have to be in your game or in your fiction.

Just Write

Two weeks ago, I got sick to the point that my officemates are still wondering why I'm coughing out phlegm every five minutes. That easily put a hold to my writing exploits for Unreality Bites, which is why I stopped writing my writing journal: because I've stopped writing. Last Friday was no help either as I got home early in the morning after doing monitor duty in San Miguel's Oktoberfest (listening to podcasts the entire time to the point that I've actually exhausted that week's supply), and then waking up just in time to meet with the Lit Critters.

Anyway, the deadline for Unreality Bites is next week and while my story is far from finished, I plan to get it done by the end of the week. But the pragmatist in me always considers the possibility that I won't make my deadline. Tyron in Banzai Cat's blog also hesitates about writing "Filipino" Speculative Fiction for fear that "there really is such a thing as Philippine Speculative Fiction". I bring that up because my answer is the same. So what if I don't meet my deadline? So what if my story isn't classified as "Philippine Speculative Fiction" by the critics? Honestly, my worst-case scenario is that I have a story. And is that really such a bad thing? (Unless of course the story itself wasn't well written. But that's what edits and revisions are for.)

Anyway, I honestly have more than a week to finish my story (unless you know, I'm struck by another epidemic). I'm actually more excited with the fact that I'm writing a new story. The prize money is lucrative but as far as publishing goes, there will always be other markets.

Butch Dalisay on Creative Writing

The Filipino Librarian has a video on Butch Dalisay's talk at the National Book Development Board's meeting last Saturday at Mag:Net Katipunan.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #8

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

Right now, there's two forces tugging at me. One part wants to go back and revise what I had written. The other wants to go and continue writing the story, errors-be-damned, and perhaps what's different from before is that I currently have a clear idea where to take the story. So what do I do? Actually, each writer has their own writing style so everyone will answer that question differently. For me, it's a strange experience but never have been two motivations seem equally matched. And in favor of the latter option, I know I'll be editing the short story anyway once the story has been finished so editing it again might simply be a redundant effort.

Also, I should be in the habit of making back-up copies of my files. You never know when the computer untimely crashes or someone unwittingly infects your hard drive with a virus/worm/spyware. Personally I keep all my writing files in a flash drive so I can take it anywhere and theoretically do my writing from any place. Having said that, I'm also wary of inserting my flash drive into just any computer for fear that the computer might actually be infected with a virus and thus corrupt my documents and later my own computer (well, that was better said than my penis analogy for flash drives). CD backups I've given up on, at least when it comes to documents, because I can't modify them. My last alternative is Google Docs but the local ISP providers being what they are, you're not always guaranteed to have an Internet connection.

Links in Writing

Every Wednesday, I post an essay or two that relates to anything from reading/writing to gaming to anime to life in general.

I've been blogging for half a decade now yet it only took me a few days ago to realize that one of the greatest writing innovations has arrived: links. Now some of you might laugh at me because links aren't anything new. While that's certainly true, the usage of links I think is changing. Previously, links were limited to navigating the site, either directing you to another section of your website or referring to someone else's homepage. Yet what's starkly different from ten years before is the fact that Internet usage is spreading and more and more people are engaged in reading over the Internet, whether it's email, blogs, RSS feeds, etc. thus the usefulness of links is expanding as well and people are finding new ways to incorporate it into technology (for some time, email was simply plain text for example and didn't have links--currently email has formatting).

Links, like any technology, is dependent on the user. I mean DVDs theoretically have the capacity to include special features yet not all manufacturers include special features in their DVD releases. The usage of links I think is pretty much the same. I mean I can write this entire essay in plain text. But incorporating links gives it an added dimension that would not otherwise be possible in print. Yet linking hasn't been maximized. Just look at online newspapers. While online newspapers certainly has links, most feature articles and news items barely include them in the body. In other words, they're not part of the text. Compare that to wikis and even some online encyclopedias where links are essential parts of the body (although admittedly some are erroneously used).

Links I think give us a new dimension when it comes to writing. It's too simplistic to think of links as a glorified footnote, which is the first thing comes to mind. Links aren't static for example. Not only can the webpage you're linking to disappear completely, it can be subtlety modified (or even be replaced by a different web page entirely). Footnotes, for good or for ill, remain as is whether you're reading it today or ten years from now. And perhaps the biggest difference between a footnote and a link is that you can easily verify the latter.

They say a picture is worth a thousand word. Well, a link can actually be a thousand words. Or a caption of sorts. For example, I can mention just one word and it immediately sends my message across through the use of a simple link: love. Go ahead and click the link to understand what kind of love I'm talking about. It could be the text equivalent of an editorial cartoon or the single-panel comic. There's also something meta-textual about links. It's the realization that the Web isn't composed of several books and texts, it's actually all one gigantic manuscript. That's why the footnote analogy doesn't work: footnotes assume that what you're referring to is outside of the current document. Links, on the other hand, can actually link to another text or document or photo because it has access to it. It has more similarities to an index rather than a footnote. Also, the potential for links is infinite. How many words composes a link? A single word can link to a thousand- or a million-word document. A single blog entry can link to ten entirely different documents. Links simply change the way we interact with text and it might shape the future of reading. If you thought reading was an active act, there's something even more active when it comes to links: taking the time to hit the click button. And trust me, not everyone will click the link in this essay, either because the information is redundant or people are simply too lazy.

What I'm still waiting for is the arrival of the link novel. You know, not an eBook in HTML or even a document with a minimum of links but a full-blown, 50,000 word manuscript wherein each and every word has a link. A friend tells me there was a similar site like that for an archive of H.P. Lovecraft's works, wherein each word could be clicked and the definition of each word would pop up. I'm thinking of something similar but beyond just definitions. I want every single word to link to something different, the cyberspace equivalent of Ulysses (psst, Kyu, it's your book!). And of course, each link has to be relevant to the story. (It would even be more interesting if the author actually manufactures the sites in which the document links to.) But since links are an active act, you don't need to click the links to understand the entire story and instead they add a different layer if you do take the time to visit them. That's not even taking into account the multimedia applications, linking to not just text but to music, video, photos, etc.

Writing Science Fiction

Every Wednesday, I post an essay or two that relates to anything from reading/writing to gaming to anime to life in general.

Some would argue that what makes writing science fiction intimidating is the science. There is this preconception that science fiction must be chock full of scientific terms, jargon, and formulas. I do think writing science fiction is difficult but not because of the science involved. Science fiction that must incorporate science--or at least the science we have come to believe--I think is a misconception. When I speak of science, there are usually four ideas that springs to people's minds: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology (basically high school science). But as an avid reader of science fiction, let me tell you a secret: your story doesn't need any of those elements. In fact, I'm surprised that many science fiction readers consider those sciences to be vital elements of the science fiction story.

That is not to say you can't write a science fiction wherein mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology is integral. These kinds of works, fans usually classify as hard science fiction, because they rely on actual scientific theory. The heart of the science fiction story however, in my opinion, is the idea. One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist in order to have an idea. This idea can be a simple speculation or an intricate, interwoven hypothesis. For example, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be summed up in a simple sentence: what if we lived in a world where books are burned and the world has lost its interest in reading? Orson Scott Card's novella Ender's Game can similarly be paraphrased as what if war was placed in the hands of a child who merely thought he was playing a game? In the case of Fahrenheit 451, there was really no mention of either biology, mathematics, physics, or chemistry, with the exception that Fahrenheit 451 was the temperature at which books burned. Ender's Game had a semi-futuristic setting but they are all window dressings and Card doesn't really explain how we managed to travel at the speed of light or how the space stations worked or how we managed to program artificial intelligence into a computer. The germ of those stories is a simple idea.

And then let us not forget the politics in science fiction. Politics for the most part is a social science and many science fiction works have tackled the subject yet it's seldom I hear that people talk about science fiction in light of the social sciences. George Orwell's 1984 for example is clearly agenda driven and the science fiction present in the story is assumption that Big Brother watches you. Ursula K. le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, as much as they are tales of aliens and far-flung star systems, at the heart of it is the human condition and how we establish factions and political bodies among ourselves (or at least that's my interpretation). Even William Gibson's Pattern Recognition has something political about it and again, one doesn't need to be well-educated or wealthy or even talented to have political leanings. Whether rich or poor, we all have an opinion when it comes to politics. The question I think is whether we care to write about it and in what mode do we choose to deliver it.

Lastly, I'll enter one of my favorite topics: philosophy. And when I speak of philosophy, you can throw in as well the question of the existence of a demiurge. In fact, one would argue that every science fiction piece written isn't philosophical in one way or another. But I want to bring up philosophy because professors and teachers on the subject agree on one thing--that every sentient being engages in philosophy. The only difference perhaps between those who take up philosophy from those who don't is perhaps the self-awareness and the ability to elucidate and explain their ideas better. And if you look at it, many science fiction stories deal with philosophical ideas. Isaac Asimov's I, Robot explores robotic sentience or at the heart of it, the hierarchy of values (human life/lives are at the top of the totem pole). And Arthur C. Clarke's short story of The Star isn't so much disproving God's existence but how we react when everything we believed in proves to be false (and this is a recurring motif in many stories, science fiction or not).

For Dean and some of the Lit Critters, a good science fiction story is where science is integral. Personally, I beg to differ. Certainly the science part is important but some writers use science fiction and fantasy not because of the limits imposed by realist fiction but rather to disassociate readers from topics they wouldn't otherwise tackle such as sexuality and discrimination. Aliens and robots for example can easily be a metaphor for people of another race and nationality (and did the Nazis not consider Jews to be sub-human?). In my opinion, the science fiction aspect of Robert Heinlen's Starship Troopers can be stripped away and instead converted into a modern military story and it'll still work. The science in the novel I think is superficial and merely a vehicle for telling the story Heinlein wanted (and take note the political climate at the time). One interesting social theory however that Heinlein pushes in the book is that we'd all be better citizens if we volunteer for military service. Nonetheless, I still think that the science in science fiction doesn't have to be earth-shattering or too tightly-woven around the story (although it would be nice if it did).

And then there's the science fiction shows and film. While as much as they do get some of the actual science right, science fiction in other media has also propagated a lot of science myths. However, as a storyteller, I also understand that sometimes, it's best to go not with what's realistic but what's best for the story or what's cinematic. That's not an excuse, however, to write a pseudo-science fiction story. If you want to write a faithful and hard science fiction story, do your research. If you want to write something like Star Wars or Dr. Who (or even something comedic like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), we're more likely to forgive you if you don't get everything right.

Having said that, if you really want to write that "science" science fiction story, go ahead. I mean what really inspired this post was reading Ted Chiang's short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others. I mean stories like Understand or What is Expected of Us (not in the collection) are idea-driven, but Division by Zero has a certain charm as it revolves around the formula e^(pi*i) + 1 = 0. Story of Your Life, on the other hand, combines philosophy, the Sapire-Whorf hypothesis, Fermat's Principle of Least Time, and even a sprinkle of Borges as Chiang gives us an alien that is truly alien and the implications of such an encounter. I enjoyed it and it's grounded on scientific principles and left me reading the book way past my bedtime, but it's not the only way of writing science fiction.

Let us also not forget that at the end of the day, a science fiction story is a story--one that needs character, plot, and setting to some degree. I think rather than ponder on the mysteries of science, one should ask the question how will I narrate my story? What elements will I be needing? If it is of the speculative nature then go ahead and write it. Some might label it fantasy (if the reader doesn't think it's possible), others science (if it is the realm of "reality"). If you really want to write that story full of scientific jargon and theory, go ahead and let the critics label it as hard science fiction. But honestly, before a story can be called science fiction, it honestly doesn't need math, physics, chemistry, or biology (and don't feel guilty for writing that "science fiction" story that has nothing to do with either of those subjects). In fact, I'd also be impressed if you can include the other neglected sciences such as social science, psychology, alternate history, or as Dean jokes, library science. While several science fiction authors do have backgrounds in science and the like, not all of them decide, hey, I should be an expert in this field of science before I can write my story. The science aspect should enable, not hinder, the writer.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #7

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

I was browsing through the Wizards of the Coast website and I saw an old link to Recommended Books on the Craft of Writing. Some writers are skeptical when it comes to books (or even podcasts or blog entries) that teach you how to write because each person's writing process is different. My perspective on it is that while that's true, it never hurts to read a book on writing: you can decide for yourself whether this is applicable to your situation or not. Of course having said that, nothing teaches you better than actually attempting to write. If one spends all their time reading books on writing but doesn't get any actual writing done, it's a futile endeavor isn't it? Right now, my mentality is better to attempt and fail rather than to be overwhelmed by the fear of getting it right the first time. And boy have I failed a couple of times: getting rejected in the school paper's literary section, getting rejected in Philippine Speculative Fiction, getting rejected by my peers in our Creative Writing workshops, getting rejected in Vin's dragon anthology, etc. But I like to think that I'm still learning so useful criticism is always welcome (useful not in the sense of "you suck!" but rather "I don't like it because...").

Anyway, as far as writing books go, I've only managed to read two: Stephen King's On Writing and Terry Brooks's Sometimes the Magic Works. However, a more important tome I think is one that dictates the writing style/format you should use. What's popular here is The Elements of Style 4th Ed., by Strunk and White (I remember writer Danton Remoto complaining at how he found the book at the fashion section of the bookstore), although it's not the only authority. There's The Chicago Manual of Style for example. What's important however is to be consistent and find out what style your publisher prefers. As lauded as The Elements of Style is, however, I want to ask how many have actually taken the time to read it cover to cover? I'll be the first to admit, I haven't. My copy's missing right now and I'll probably need to purchase a new one and I remember going through the first few pages of the book but never finishing it. I'm also surprised at how many people quote the book but never applies its teachings. I mean look at my first sentence in this paragraph: normally, people wouldn't put an 's at the end of Terry Brooks's name the way I do. They'd leave it as Brooks'. But from my meager knowledge of The Elements of Style, the latter shouldn't be the case. I just find it bizarre that my grade school and high school teachers told me to follow Strunk and White yet when it comes to the actual English lesson on style and grammar, they're following a different format.

The key to writing style however is consistency. Whether you follow your English teacher's lessons or Strunk and White, just stick to one, in the same way that we don't mix American English and European English even if both are valid languages. But at the end of the day, this doesn't need to be in the initial draft. You can work on consistency during your editing process. Just be aware of it, however.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #6

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

You know what's my greatest nemesis? Procrastination. It's a simple and basic dilemma yet it's one that's so effective. With a personal deadline of October 15 however, I can't slacken off the writing load. I tell myself I have a whole day to myself on October 12 (it's a government-declared holiday) but that's me rationalizing not producing as much output as I want.

Anyway, no matter whether you're rich or poor, talented or not, we're all equal when it comes to hours in a day. Everyone has 24 hours and while I could arguably skip on sleep, I find that I write my best when I've managed to catch some shut-eye (it also helps me catch errors too). Years ago, I was a nocturnal creature, doing my best writing in the evening. These days however, I find that the best time for me to write is early in the morning. Why? Maybe it's because I just woke up and so I don't feel the temptation to sleep. On the other hand, my day job can be exhausting, and when you get home, you simply want to relax. But that's my formula and I don't expect my writing hours will match up to everyone. So how about you, when is the "optimal" hours for you to do your writing? Since I know mine is in the morning, I make that extra effort to sleep early on the weekdays so that I can wake up early in the morning (alas, it doesn't always work that way). Still, so far, I've been consistent, and that for me is what's important. And then when I get home in the evening, that's when I do some edits or even some major writing if need be, but it's not as consistent as my morning writing.

Also, another effect of writing is that I have to set my priorities. These days, I find that I have little time to read books. Between writing the short story, surfing the Internet for my regular blog entries, and writing my actual blog entries (which is overwhelmingly long, either in content or in quantity), it seems there's little time for me to do anything else. I still have my daily comic stash which I manage to read however. However there's a couple of things I needed to give up in the past few weeks. For example, I used to GM a tabletop RPG and I wish I could run a D&D game but that's out of the question. The preparation time involved eats up my writing time. And one reason I've declined playing MMORPGs isn't just the fact that it costs money and I have a lousy Internet connection at home, but video game addiction again will dip into much-needed writing time. It's choices like that which reveal to me that I'm a writer first and a gamer second.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #5

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

Today, let's talk about research. In certain ways, writing these days is much much easier compared to say, twenty years ago mainly because research takes less time (for the most part... if you want a feel of Israel for example, nothing beats going to the location yourself). Instead of waiting for the library to open or finding a friend who took up anthropology or biology or whatever esoteric science, one can turn to the Internet. By no means is the Internet necessarily comprehensive but 1) it does give you a start and 2) it's available 24 hours. If you're writing time is at 1 am in the morning and you suddenly need to look up something midway through your writing, it's not a big chore to search for it on the Internet (especially if you're writing on the computer already or in my case, typing it in Google Docs). Personally, I also use the Internet as a dictionary, thesaurus, and etymological source.

Anyway, as much as Internet researching is helpful, sometimes it's just not enough. For example, currently I'm researching Polynesian myths and legends but unfortunately, my Internet sources aren't much help. Sure, there are alphabetized listings of personalities and creatures but that's not exactly a good way to start. One needs an introduction, not necessarily with the Creation Myth but not in an arbitrary point either.

But why is research important, considering I'm writing "speculative" fiction? In many ways, even when writing for such a genre, I noticed that for my writing style, the "write what you know" rule leads to a more natural voice. For example, I have no qualms messing with Filipino mythology. In the story I submitted to Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 3, my duwende (something of a hybrid between gnomes, elves, and dwarves) weren't the duwendes you know from local mythology yet they were still recognizable despite their liberal alterations (I hope!). This is where I think creativity comes into play. I was more confident about tweaking them to suit my needs. On the other hand, the current short story I'm working on right now, I found that in one selection, I was a bit too faithful to the source material because I was unfamiliar with it. Mind you, being faithful isn't bad if that's the story you wanted to tell but in the previous selections, I was freely modifying my source material. If I wanted to remain consistent, my latest selection needed some changes, not just a virtual clipboard copy of the myth it was based from. (It's kind of hard to be detailed without showing specific examples!)

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #4

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

Michael Stackpole recommends that when writing a novel, one should concentrate on finishing the novel and make your edits/re-writes later; just leave yourself notes or else you'll never get the novel done. I'm more of an edit-as-you-go type of person and I'm thinking that in this case, I'm not writing a novel but a short story. Still, remember that wall I hit yesterday? Well instead of moving the story forward, I instead went back and edited what I previously wrote. It's better now, mind you, but it's also 1,500 words whereas it used to be just 1,000 words and my story hasn't really progressed from where I ended previously. Mind you, that extra 500 words isn't padding but were details that made the story smoother and cleared up illogical parts of the story. Still, as far as plot goes, I haven't been overcoming the wall so to speak, merely backtracking myself.

So how does one overcome that wall? In this particular case, I know the answer: set aside time to write it down, actually write it down, and do more research. The thing is, despite knowing all that, I didn't act on it. Knowing is one thing, acting on it is another. I made an excuse--the need to edit--and while I don't regret that decision, it also hasn't gotten me anywhere. So currently, I am setting aside time to do those things. One step forward, even if it's just baby steps.

Another weakness of mine is names. In this short story, I just have one naming convention rule: to make the familiar unfamiliar. So far I'd like to think I've succeeded in that. But it's far from easy. Take for example the Philippines. If you had this fantastical Philippine setting, what do you call it? Dean called his Hinirang. A friend called his Mahadlika. What would you call your Philippines if you had to rename it? Here's what we've historically propositioned at one point in time or another (from Colonial Name, Colonial Mentality and Ethnocentrism):

• Maharlika ("Noble")
  
• Bayani ("Hero")
• Luzviminda (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao)
  

On a side note, the Charles-haters (wow I'm famous enough to have people actually hate me) have used the following phrase to describe me in relation to my Phil. Speculative Fiction stance:

Let me, instead, quote a friend in how she very aptly described the frustrated writer-wannabe critic causing all this ruckus: "He's just wanking because his glasses are bigger than his brain." Heck. Now that I think about it, I think my boobs are bigger than his brain.

My initial reaction is to become defensive or discredit her writing skills. But in the long run, I think that's besides the point (she's also going to be published in an upcoming anthology so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that she is very talented). One's philosophical beliefs are separate from one's writing skill (or else I'd have "lost" by the mere fact I was arguing with Bhex and Tin who are infinitely better writers than me). At the end of the day though, it's about me. Maybe I am a wannabe writer: I mean I've been trying to get published for several years now and all I have to show for it is one story in Philippine Genre Stories Vol. 3 that just got released in August of this year (thanks Kyu!). But you know what, I'll just use that comment to fuel my writing. Whenever I falter and lose my motivation to write, all I need to do is look up that statement. There are even authors who use the villains in their life as characters in their story. Moral lesson of the day? Channel your passions into your writing.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #3

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

Here's one writing paradox that's true for me: when I'm on the keyboard, I have difficulty writing. When it's time for me to not write (i.e. heading for work, away from the computer, taking a bath), I'm itching to write. It's like playing a cat and mouse game with your muse and the latter only turns up when you're not looking.

Anyway, what I want to talk about is non-writing time. Last night I was so engrossed writing my short story that I did not notice that two hours had passed. I would have gone on had I not hit a "wall"--that is, there's something in the story that I don't know how to continue. Sometimes, it's not a big issue and in this case, nothing research can't solve. Sometimes, it is a big dilemma and you end up trashing your short fiction and working on a new story entirely.

I consider research to be non-writing time that's essential to writing. You gotta do it and you have to take it into account. That's more of a conscious effort though.

There are times when you just got to leave your story alone and let the ideas fester. Your subconscious is working on it and elements will pop out later. For example, yesterday, as I was leaving for the office, new elements started to creep up that made me want to return to the keyboard. But I didn't and I continued walking to work. The more I walked, the more ideas popped up. By the time I reached the office, my short story had the potential to be something bigger and grander in scope. So relaxation time I think is another non-writing time that's essential to writing. Sometimes, you have to strangle your muse to get something out (which was the case when I was initially formulating what to write about). Sometimes, you have to give it time to develop (that's why don't cram your story!).

As pumped up as I am about my story however, when it comes to actually writing it down, what appears on the page is different. I think this is the real challenge--and what makes writers who they are. Everyone has this idea or story in their head. Actualizing that idea or story is what makes writing a profession or an art. Which is to say that while I'm excited about my story when I'm not writing it, when I'm actually writing it down, there's always the fear that it's not good enough. Let's not even start about waiting for the acceptance/rejection slip.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Right now I'm at 1,000 words and by my estimate, 1/4th of the way to the finish line (yes, I know, that's what I said yesterday when I was at 600 words... stories change!). Before one can talk about what's a good story and what's a bad one, it's not a story until it's finished (unless you're Kafka).

Random Text Message

"The story in your head is often better than the story you actually get to write down."

7 Writing Qualities That's Different Today

John August has an upcoming talk on "The Challenge of Writing in a Digital Age" and he's asking for feedback on his thesis:

1. Authority
2. Authorship
3. Exposure
4. Transparency
5. Permanence
6. Transience
7. Immediacy
   

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #2

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

I had problems coming up with an idea last night and so I went for a surefire way to ignite my creative muscles: I read stories. I revisited Jeffrey Ford's Creation and Dean Alfar's The Kite of Stars, hoping to draw from the best. Suffice to say, it worked and I managed to write two short paragraphs of the story.

This morning, as tempted as I was to blog and check email and surf the Net, I made a decision to write, write, and write. Re-worked what I had previously written into a narrative with better flow and structure although as of the time of this writing, I still have no working title (which is not a problem). I already have in mind a general plot and an ending, butchered from various story ideas and failed drafts. I'm roughly at 600 words and around a quarter of the story but I am not worried for there is no minimum word count and I think this is easily the best story I've written so far (don't we always think that whenever we write a new story?).

My quote for the day accomplished, I finally have time to blog but I need to take a bath, eat breakfast, and rush to work.

Writing Journal: Unreality Bites #1

I'm planning to participate in Fully Booked's Graphic/Fiction Contest and this is a peek at my writing process.

It's October 1, 2007 and the deadline is thirty days away. Even if this is just a short story (people have written novels in the span of one month), I never underestimate my deadlines. I would have probably started earlier if it weren't for the fact that I had another deadline the month before (Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 3).

Anyway, here's my plan: I should be finished with the short story by the middle of the month (say, October 15) and then use the two weeks after that to edit and revise my work. I plan to submit my work at October 30 at the latest, allotting myself one extra day just in case I run into printing errors or if my computer crashes (remember Murphy's Law!).

The first thing I check are the contest guidelines. It's such a simple thing to do yet some people forget. Important things I notice:

• I can't submit previously published work so no shortcuts for me in case I get lazy.
• Genre can be fantasy, horror, or science fiction. Right now I'm still deciding whether to write a fantasy or a science fiction story. My horror writing still needs work.
• Works must be in English. Not really a problem for me.
• Word count can't exceed 7,500 words. I don't think I'll be approaching 7,000 words.
• Manuscript must be replicated and submitted to the Fully Booked branch in Serendra. Sorry, no last minute email submissions!

Off the top of my head, I have no short story in mind. Fortunately, I have an inventory at home, some completely finished works that just needs intensive revision and polishing, others one sentence that can serve as the seed of a story. Most are somewhere in between, not quite an entire short story but more than a phrase. Here's one piece for example which I haven't a clue how it started nor how to continue it:

When Michael opened the closet door, he knew the apocalypse had arrived. There was neither a storm nor an earthquake but Michael knew the world would unravel this very day. His clothes were still in his closet but there was a minute difference about them—one with an untrained eye wouldn’t have spotted at first glance. It was a subtle yet certain sign that the end had come: Michael’s clothes were missing their buttons.

Anyway, so far I have no definite direction where I plan to go, so I'll be spending the night thinking of my story and attempt to write the first paragraph. While it's tempting to postpone the endeavor to tomorrow, procrastination has killed a lot of stories, especially with a deadline looming.

More Thoughts on "Filipino" Speculative Fiction

More ideas seem to be thrown at the table and what's interesting about all of this is that there's discourse. Unfortunately, the questions too are ever-expanding and I think have strayed a bit from the original topic (or at least loosely based on them) so it's best we formulate them into question and address them (feel free to clarify):

1) The Criteria for Filipino Speculative Fiction

This question I think is easily what Bhex and Kenneth are asking. The former gives us a clear-cut definition while the latter not so much. If I may, I'll use Cecille's (see previous comments) questions to attempt to answer this question. Should Filipino fiction be about the Philippines? Well, not necessarily. Most of our stories might take place in the Philippines but isn't that kind of limited in scope. Aren't there other Filipino experience that go beyond our borders, such as OFWs, expatriates, or perhaps a Filipino who's lost somewhere? Should the stories be written in Filipino? Well, when use the language Filipino, we automatically make it our own. But as I pointed out earlier, the country has had a long history of different national languages and what about all the stories that's not written in Filipino, especially the quintessential Filipino novel Noli me Tangere? Must it be written by a Filipino? I think some local writers who aren't natural-born citizens that have managed to capture the Filipino spirit (albeit not necessarily in fiction) such as Fr. James Reuter, S.J. And then comes the bigger question I think: that a story not contain all of these elements or lack one of these elements, as long as at least one of these elements is present in the work. That's honestly a tough question. But at the end of the day, we're talking about speculative fiction here and not realist fiction. The strength of the former is that it goes beyond boundaries. I think by placing such boundaries, in this case an undeniable Filipino element, we are limiting the kind of stories we tell. That's not to say Filipino Speculative Fiction should not contain a Filipino element. I think one can be included even if it's an abstract one. For example, of the strengths of fantasy and science fiction is that it distances readers from reality and uses something else as a metaphor for our current experience. The aliens might represent another ethnicity. Other planets other countries. le Guin writes in Left Hand of Darkness writes about a culture so totally alien yet familiar if you continue on. Could we not write about aliens traveling to far off galaxies and working there, never to return home despite the technology being readily available? Can that not be a metaphor for the OFW experience even if OFW is not spelled outright?

2) The Agenda in Filipino Spec Fic

Tin's more recent post I think best describes this argument. That Filipino Spec Fic should have a thrust, a more social agenda. Now I'm not saying it shouldn't. But isn't that what the realist writers are doing right now? Writing stories that theoretically have an impact on society? Of course I'm not saying that spec fic should or should not be socially relevant. I dread the world of two extremes, one where all the fiction in the world is socially relevant, and the other where all fiction is merely fluff. I was talking to Dean the other day and he makes a point of nurturing both aspects. He talks about how the beginning literature of a civilization starts off with the relevant and later moves on to material with less gravity. Arguably we're still in the former stage but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be writing material belonging to the latter. Does ethics and politics and social responsibility have a place in speculative fiction? Definitely. But I also want to read stories that don't attempt to be as lofty. Ultimately though, what story isn't political, what story doesn't set out to teach a lesson of some sort? Even the most simplistic of mores have something to reach readers, albeit it's not necessarily the ones we want to read about.